Beside You in Time
by lycanthrophy-kitsune
Summary: No girl likes Steve before the serum when he was just a 90 pound asthmatic. This is the story of Evelyn the girl who fell in love with the real Steve. (will follow events from the movie and I am terrible at summaries).
1. Chapter 1

_Sooo this is my first full length fan fiction. Be nice :). I have an idea of where I want the story to go, but I guess it depends on the feed back. I will post two or more chapters after this one but I'll have to see if it is worth continuing._

_I noticed there were no stories about Steve before the serum so I wanted to create a romance that followed him before the serum and who liked him for his character, and then follow the story line. _

_Tell me what you think. Reviews are always welcome._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Captain America (though I wish I did). Captain America belongs to Marvel :(_

* * *

_Today better be the day, _Evelyn thought while weaving her way through the crowds hustling about on the sidewalk. Today would be the third time this month that someone offered to talk to her about a job that she had applied to forever ago (and had honestly somewhat forgot about until the phone call came in this morning asking to meet up with her). The unexpected phone call was part of the reason she was moving as fast as her heels could manage without tripping and staining her dress.

An unexpected shove from her side had her cursing under her breath as she fumbled for a second before finding her footing and not kissing the dirt. Turning she tried to find the jerk that hit her so she could give him her patented eyebrow raise of doom glare. This would be the one morning that she decided to be lazy and not move from her bed. And the one morning where everyone in the universe decided to conspire against her.

Making her way she eventually ended up being shoved to the point in the sidewalk furthest from the street. _Perfect_. Now she had to make sure not to catch her dress and tear (what she knew would be if it happened) the biggest hole ever to grace the front of a dress. Dirty people on one side, grimy, teary walls on the other. It was official; she definitely wasn't getting this job. _Might as well quit while I'm ahead. _Grumbling some more, which would have sent her mother into seizure like fits if she could hear how unladylike she was being, Evelyn spotted the opening of an alley and rushed towards it to catch a breather.

Standing there with her arms crossed she glared at the general spot in front of her. She was highly tempted to kick a can but restrained herself due to the fact that she couldn't see one around and the heels she was wearing were her favorite. After a moment of stewing she felt her anger drain away. Rolling her eyes she almost threw her hands in the air before gathering herself to begin shoving her way through the crowd and back to her apartment.

Right when she was about to step onto the sidewalk and prove herself to be the better shover a muffled noise from behind her caused her to pause. Turning Evelyn glanced down the alley. It was one of those types that didn't stop in a dead end but cut across the city block and opened on the opposite street. Garbage cans and other things she didn't want to take to close a look at littered the short cut from one end to the other. Straining for a minute she held her breath to try and hear the sound again. As the moment passed she was about to put the noise down as a cat doing whatever it was that cats do, before she heard it again followed by a soft yelp. Okay, that didn't sound like a cat.

Completely ignoring the fact that her dress would definitely get dirty and her favorite heels would probably receive at least one scratch, she started walking down the alley. It was probably some punk who thought beating up the homeless was a fun past time. Her blood boiled just thinking about it. She may not be able to physically kick someone's ass, but she could yield her tongue like a whip if needed. Looked like it was needed.

The sounds got louder more towards the middle of the alley, a location that people walking on the sidewalks wouldn't be able to see or hear what was going on. Moving around one particularly large garbage bin she found the source of the whimper.

Some meat head who looked like he didn't have two brain cells to rub together was blooding his knuckles against some poor kid's face. Screw tongue lashing this guy just got himself a one way ticket to never fathering children again!

Clearing her throat she waited to the brute to process the noise while she lifted her dress to her knees so she could swing her leg better. The lug looked over his shoulder with a glare and what she was sure to be a scathing comment before his eyes widened realizing that yes, there was a woman behind him. Letting go of the other guy's collar he turned around to face her all the while smiling like a moron. She could see him about to open his mouth and flirt with her like she didn't just see him beat the ever loving crap out of a defenseless man.

Before her IQ could drop listening to his blather she cut him off with a smile and said, "Can you help me please?" The ass wasn't close enough yet for her to deliver maximum pain to his family jewels. Swaggering forward he drawled, "How," before finishing it with a scream that went to such a pitch only dogs could hear. Falling forward and cradling his wounded appendage she hopped back a step the second before he kissed the dirt. Nudging his side with her toe she smiled when he moaning and tried to squirm away from her. "Have we learnt our lesson? Being a bully is bad," wagging her finger at him like she was scolding a three year old. Turning from the now pitiful mess rolling about in the dirt she focused her attention on the other guy.

He was slumped against the wall and his face looked like someone decided to swing a baseball bat at his nose. The blood from his busted up nose was slowly turning the white button down shirt he was wearing into a vivid scarlet and it looked like he would have trouble opening his left eye in the near future. Bending down and balancing her weight in her toes she waived a hand in front of the man to see if he was still conscious. His right eye opened fully while his left one was only able to lift a sliver. "Hey, how many fingers am I holding," wiggling two digits in his face she waiting for him to answer. After a moment that involved a lot of blinking, a hoarse, "Two?" answered her. Smiling she said, "Well it doesn't look like you have a concussion, that's good. What's your name stranger?" The last part of her sentence was muffled as she scavenged her bag for a handkerchief for the man's bloody nose.

Pushing himself up into a seating position he groaned before stuttering out, "I'm S-Steve," if he was going to say anything else after that it was quickly cut off by Evelyn's "Aha!" as she pulled a (slightly dirty, hey no one's perfect) handkerchief from her bag. "Knew I had one somewhere," she muttered before handing the cloth to Steve. Who absentmindedly took the offered gift and pressed it to his face while staring at her with wide eyes. The way he was looking at her was like he had never seen a girl take down a guy. Huffing and rolling her eyes she stood and held out a hand to pull Steve up as well. Staring at her hand and then at her he continued to sit against the wall with the handkerchief pressed against his face. Rolling her eyes (at this point she wouldn't be surprised if they just rolled right out of her head) and asked, "Come on now. Never saw a helping hand before?" Another moment and Steve grabbed her hand. Bracing herself she hauled and almost stumbled into the moron behind her. Steve was not as heavy as she imagined him to be. In fact, now that she got a good look at him standing, he looked like he weighed as much as she did. That thought made her pout. Here she was trying to lose those last pesky five pounds and some random guy ends up weighing less than her. Someone up there hated her. Well at least it looked like she was half an inch taller than him. She'd take her wins as they came.

Steve wobbled for a second before gaining his balance and began avidly studying his shoes. Giving the brute one last kick she grabbed Steve's hand and led him out of the alley. Luckily there wasn't a lot of people around; the morning rush was probably over by now. Turning to Steve she winced. The sun did a perfect job of making every bruise and cut stand out like the American flag. He was red, white and blue all over. She had to push down a smile at the thought. Can't have the person she saved think she was smiling at his pain. Cuz you know, she wasn't. She was smiling at her pun.

Apparently she didn't hide her wince quick enough because Steve's lips quirked as he asked, "That bad?" He said it so casually that she ended up staring at him long enough for him to squirm. Sheesh the poor man made it seem like this was an everyday occurrence. Wake up, have breakfast, get the stuffing beat out of me. Just the usual Monday morning. No biggie. And if that casualness of his situation didn't want to make her give him a bear hug she didn't know what would. Grabbing his hand again while simultaneously biting her lower lip and shaking her head, Evelyn dragged him down the sidewalk and back in the direction of her apartment.

That seemed to grab his attention. He didn't necessarily tug at her hand to get her to release him, but Evelyn got the feeling he wanted to. "Excuse me, uh, Ma'am, where are we going?" This was one for the books. The first question he ever asks of her is why she is kidnapping him and not her name. Evelyn shook her head. Maybe he was concussed after all. Not asking the correct questions at all. Her name was much more important than where they were going. It took all of two seconds to debate in her head whether or not to use sarcasm on him.

He was still letting her drag him behind her so she yanked him up to her side and proceeded to wrap her arm around his waist just in case he decided to faint or make a break for it or something equally stupid. Turning her head so she could talk to his face and not the empty spot in front of her, she started in on the sarcasm (hey she was only human), "Well I thought it was obvious. I'm taking you back to my place to have my wicked way with you before I dump your body in the Hudson." Cue eye roll.

Steve immediately jerked to face her and some of the red on his face was definitely from a blush. Not that you could tell from far away since half his face was covered in blood, but she was close enough to spot it. His mouth dropped open as well. Huffing she decided to tone down her personality. At the rate she was going the poor guy was liable to have a stroke over her lack of sensibilities. With her free hand she reached over and closed his mouth with a tap. Yep that was definitely a blush.

"Relax. Yes I'm taking you back to my place, but just to get you sorted out. What kind of person would I be if I kicked a meat head in his unmentionables and then left the guy he was beating up all by his lonesome?" She cut him off before he could respond, "Not a very good one. So pipe down … uh actually you don't say much to begin with do you? Pipe up and follow where I lead. We're almost there."

For the rest of the journey Evelyn decided to keep her talking to a minimum so Steve could get his two cents in, but he apparently didn't get the memo. When they eventually stopped outside her apartment building she patted him on his hip (her hand was there) and reached out with the other to open the door as she said, "We really need to work on your communication skills. Contrary to popular belief I am not a mind reader."

Dragging him through her apartment building she could have lived without bumping into her nosy older neighbor Mrs. Newman who was about to walk her high pitched yapping rat. The old lady gave a shriek at seeing Steve and caused her dog to try and out scream her. Ugh. She was also the biggest gossip this side of the city. Perfect. Shoving Steve in front of her she maneuvered him around the rat dog and owner, gave some half-assed excuse as to Steve's bloody countenance and slammed her door in Mrs. Newman's face after she managed to wrestle it open. All in all, the encounter went better than expected; even though she wished it had never happened at all. Dam the person who hates her from the clouds.

Her apartment was modest considering it was only her and "Dam!" she shoved Steve out of the way before her dog tore his way from her bedroom to jump on her. And there was Fenrir. Steve let out a yelp when the black streak rushed past him, but she was too busy trying to push her heavy as hell dog off her before her face was covered in drool to really care. "Fenrir! Get off you fat ass!" After a few moments of dodging the slobbering tongue she managed to knock him off with a particularly hard shove before pushing on his head to stand up. "Dumb mutt," she grumbled fondly while rubbing the tip of a pointed ear. Jerking her head towards Steve she told Fenrir in her most serious, no nonsense voice, "This is Steve. Keep him company while I go grab water and towels and bandaids or whatever," and with a firm pat on his head she left Fenrir with Steve. Whose expression was almost bordering on the verge of being terrified out of his mind by being alone with her friend, but she artfully managed to ignore it.

After rummaging about Evelyn decided to bring back anything that looked like it would help with a wound. She didn't have much (read anything) except towels and water so she decided they would have to do. It wasn't like she had to deal with wounds and whatnot.

Bringing the two items with her she laughed seeing Steve standing a good five feet from Fenrir who was staring at him with full blown puppy eyes. The ones that made women squeal about the cuteness and had small children giggling. Apparently Steve was immune. Weird. Cracking a smirk she informed him, "Fenrir doesn't bite unless I tell him too," before pushing him down on the couch and placing the bowl of water with the rags soaking in it on the table.

Grabbing the beyond salvageable handkerchief from him, she whipped out one of the water logged towels gave it a quick rung and proceeded to wipe away the now dry/flaky blood surrounding Steve's chin and throat. Steve, unsurprisingly, just sat there not saying anything while failing to keep a blush from staining his cheeks. Evelyn on the other hand talked a mile a minute. "I can't believe that idiot did this to you. Well, no I can believe it; the big always pick on those weaker than them. But that is the wild! Animals do that because they, you know, kinda have to. People should be above that. Even though the guy punching you looked like he didn't have two brain cells to rub together. I know animals that are smarter than that moron. Case in point Fenrir! Well, maybe I can't use him. He is smarter than the average human you know," and the next five minutes continued on in the same fashion.

Once Evelyn was satisfied that all the blood had been washed off she gave Steve a smile while throwing the last used towel into the now pinkish water bowl. "There we go! Almost as good as new." Gently touching his rapidly swelling eye she said, "That might take a while to go down. It'll probably be painful tomorrow. Don't envy you." Grabbing the bowl she dumped it in her kitchen sink to be cleaned later before plopping next to him on the couch. Fenrir padded over and placed his head in her lap, turning the puppy stare onto her to get her to scratch behind his ears. Rolling her eyes she did so.

"So Steve (they really needed to fix his lack of talking), I literally only know your name. And even then it's only your first. I've probably at this point given you half of my life's story so now it's your turn. Spill."

Aaand nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Steve just sat there staring. After a moment Evelyn nodded her head in understanding, "Ah I get it," patting him on the arm in a show of sympathy she continued, "Steve, I know I'm stunning and God's gift to man and while your staring is flattering I would rather you talk." Aaaand the blush returns with a vengeance. The silence continues.

"Alrighty then," standing up Evelyn pushes Fenrir's head away and makes her way into the kitchen to grab some coins. "I maybe asking a bit much. You have, obviously, been through a lot these past couple hours. Why don't you head home, come to terms with what happened and we'll meet again later and have a conversation," coming back to the living room she dropped a quarter on his lap, "Take this. There is a public phone on the corner of this street if you take a right out of the building." Grabbing his hand she scribbled her land line number onto it. "This is my number. Give me a call when you figure out how to regain the use of your vocal cords," after she was done she held out a piece of paper and the pen with the explanation, "Just so I can contact you in case you decide not to call. Come, come. Phone number man! Write it!" Writing down the number in a daze, he mumbled a quick thanks before stumbling out of her apartment.

Once the door was shut she turned to Fenrir and said, "You know he was kinda cute."


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Captain America. Marvel does.

* * *

A couple of days past since Evelyn saw Steve. Since she had completely missed her interview she currently lounged about, listened to the radio and took Fenrir on walks. All in all, she was living the highlife. So other than that she passed her time staring at the phone mounted on her wall (even though she wouldn't admit it to anyone even under pain of death) waiting for Steve to gather some of that courage she knew was there somewhere and call.

Once the day past and there wasn't any calls, she would scold herself. Obviously he wasn't done healing yet. Duh. That was totally the reason why she was waiting in utter agony. Yep.

"God I sound like a pining, scorned lover," she grumbled to herself on the fourth morning. The sad truth of it all was that Steve was the first person she interacted with for more than a minute for a long time. Very long. Huh, now that she was thinking back on it Evelyn honestly couldn't remember when the last time was. It was now officially official. She was a homebody. The last thought launched her out of her chair, starling Fenrir from his nap. Turning to her companion she clapped her hands, "Come Fenrir. We are going to go out. We are bums! Bums I tell you. We need to leave now!"

Putting a leash on Fenrir they headed out the door. Once they made it to the side walk she started to scold herself. It was a beautiful day. One of those Hallmark, the sun is shining, birds are singing, peace on earth might actually be possible, kind of day. The last couple of days were probably just like this one and she missed them because she was too busy trying to become one with her couch. Well not anymore!

Walking with Fenrir was always a fun experience. On all four paws his head easily came up past her hip and he breezed past the five foot mark when measuring from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail without even trying. That and the fact he was all black had people parting before them like she was Moses and they, the Red Sea. _That's right. I command you to part! _ Giggling to herself she led Fenrir to a nearby park. Unhooking his leash, Fenrir waited patiently as she dug around in her bag for the tennis ball she KNEW was somewhere in there. "Success!" Withdrawing her hand from the depths of her bag she held the ball above her head in victory. Fenrir, seeing what it was, began barking and running around in circles so she would throw it. "Yah I get it you want it now. Wait a second will you."

Dropping her bag down she gathered the ball in both hands, wound herself as pitchers in baseball do and let the tennis ball fly. Fenrir shot off like a cannon after it. Glancing around Evelyn noticed mother's gathering their children and heading off to another section of the park. Rolling her eyes she held out her hand for Fenrir to drop the drool covered toy into it before chucking it. By the third throw everyone who had been around them was nowhere to be seen. Wusses.

After a half an hour she had to call it quits. Her arm was killing her! Unlike Fenrir who could go days without slowing down, her endurance level was at the range of a small boy. It was pitiful, but she was lazy. When Fenrir ran back after the I don't know I lost track throw she patted him on the head and plopped down on the ground. "Need a break boy. We'll start in 20." Closing her eyes she could feel Fenrir standing over her and she would bet money that the ball was still in his mouth. After a moment she felt a weight on her stomach and she weaved her left hand through the shaggy fur that surrounded his ruff. The ball rested against her right side and she could feel a little bit of drool seep into her shirt once Fenrir had let it go to pant.

Their twenty minutes passed like that and Evelyn groaned as her arm twanged thinking about throwing that ball some more. Right before she was about to get up she felt Fenrir lift his head and start barking. It wasn't the You Better Get Away Before I Take A Chunk Out of Your Leg Bark, but a Hey I Know You Bark. That bark caused her brow to furrow due to the fact that they didn't know anyone. At all. Opening her eyes and tilting her head in the direction Fenrir was barking at, she sat up in surprise when she saw Steve and some other man standing a few feet away from them.

Pushing Fenrir off, she stood up and smiled. "Hey Steve! Fancy seeing you around here. Your face is looking good." And it was. The swelling had gone down dramatically in his eye and he was able to open it all the way. The bruises had reached that lovely brownish, yellow, green stage, but that just meant that they were healing. Turning to look at the stranger next to him Evelyn couldn't help but notice how different he looked from Steve. For one thing his hair was dark brown. Oh and he was twice Steve's size. Not that that was hard or anything but still. What happened to birds of a flock feathered together or whatever that stupid saying was? Jerking her thumb at the stranger she asked, "Well, are you going to introduce us or what?" After a flush and a stammer she learned that the man was James, or Bucky to his friends. The second part was told to her by the flirt himself who had smirked and said, "You can call me Bucky doll." Evelyn responded to that with her default answer to everything. An eye roll. He didn't look too put off by it. Shame.

While Bucky was flirting with her Fenrir had walked over to Steve and was nudging his hand in the universal language of dogs as, _Rub my ear dammit!_ Steve still looked a bit terrified of him, but Evelyn had to give him credit when he reached down to give the quickest ear rub known to man. Fenrir didn't look too happy. She could see him debating about going over to Bucky, but after the disappointing ear rub from Steve he in caved and started nudging Bucky's hand.

Glancing down in surprise he began to scratch Fenrir before asking, "Who's this?" "Fenrir. He's my companion. Obviously." Leaning forward and lowering his voice (wow this guy doesn't quit) he continued, "What type of dog is he?"

Without missing a beat Evelyn said, "He's not a dog. He's a wolf." She giggled as Bucky's hand jerked off Fenrir's head like it was on fire. Taking a couple of steps back he joined Steve who had beat a hasty retreat of five feet. Staring at her in disbelief Bucky repeated, "A wolf?" Head nod. "You have a wolf?"

"Nooo," she said drawing out the word, "I don't 'have' a wolf. Fenrir is my friend. I don't own him."

"Oh."

Silence.

Eye roll.

"He's not going to suddenly rip your calf out. Get over here you cowards."

Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly if you look at it) Steve gathered his courage and made his way towards her. After a beat Bucky followed not wanting to look like a coward next to his friend and, more importantly, in front of a woman. Bending down she picked up the tennis ball and chucked it to Bucky. "He likes it when it's thrown." As if the purpose of the ball wasn't obvious.

As Bucky hesitantly threw the ball and flinched when Fenrir came running back to drop it off, Evelyn turned to Steve. "I wasn't kidding earlier. You do look loads better. How's it feel?"

Bringing his hand up to rub the back of his neck he got out, "It's fine. Doesn't hurt at all really." Victory was hers! There was not a single stutter in that sentence. Awesome.

Continuing the conversation before it died in awkward silence she asked, "So do you two live around here? Is that why you were wandering around the park?"

Lowering his hand he shoved them into his pockets and shrugged. "Yah we actually don't live too far from here. We walked by this way because everyone looked like they were avoiding it and Bucky wanted to check it out." Now it was Evelyn's turn to blush. Ducking her head she mumbled, "People don't really trust Fenrir." That got a laugh out of Steve, "I can kinda see why. He is a big canine."

Evelyn tried to stop it, but she could feel her jaw drop as she looked at Steve in disbelief. He actually knew the correct term for the dog family that included wolves. Grabbing his arm she started to babble. "I can't believe someone actually knows what it means! It's always so nice whenever someone shows that they have a brain instead of flexing their biceps like, well, like morons," the more she talked the deeper Steve's blush got. When she finally noticed she cut off and reached up to tap his check. "If we're going to be hanging out on a regular basis you really need to tone that down. People might start thinking I was molesting you or something."

At her sentence the blush vanished and he stared at her in amazement. Doing a quick scan to see if there was anything embarrassing on her shirt, she glanced back up to see Steve still staring at her. "Are you ok?" Snapping out of it he said in a whisper, "You want to hang out?"

Now she was the one staring at him like he had two heads. "Um, yes! Why do you think I wrote my number on your hand and led you back to my place to patch you up? A gag?" By the way he ducked his head she knew that was exactly what he thought. That she gave the number to him to make him look like a fool. Tightening her grip on his arm she took in a deep breath to calm down. It made her blood boil to think about how many times he must have been snubbed to automatically come to that conclusion. He was such a nice guy, he didn't deserve any of that. Forcing herself to release the tight grip she had on his arm, she ran her free hand up and down his bicep. Softly she said, "Well, I meant it. You're a great guy. I would be honored to get to know you." Placing a quick kiss on his cheek she let go of him to snatch the ball out of Bucky's hand and throw it as far as she was able to let off some frustration.

Bucky let loose a whistle at the distance, "Nice arm."

Evelyn shrugged in response. If she opened up her mouth now the rant that would be sure to spill forth would not be pretty. Or lady-like. Once Fenrir returned she felt that she had a firm enough grasp on her emotions to talk like a normal human being. Grabbing Bucky by the arm she dragged him over to Steve who was studiously avoiding looking at her in the face, but at least he wasn't blushing. She was about to grab his arm before she remembered she had to leash Fenrir. Dropping Bucky's arm she ruffled the grass to find the leash. Getting it she quickly snapped it on Fenrir and looped her free arm with Steve's. Bucky raised a brow at the action which Evelyn responded with a raised brow back. After a moment he just shrugged, smiled (wow Evelyn thought, an actual smile) and said, "Where to fellas?"

Seeing as how it was still early Evelyn volunteered that she knew a great Italian restaurant that had an outdoor sitting area and wasn't too bad about Fenrir being tied to the table while she ate. Both men readily agreed to which Evelyn huffed. Men and their stomachs.


	3. Chapter 3

It only took a few minutes to reach the Italian restaurant Evelyn had mentioned. The owner had sighed seeing Fenrir but with a nod let them sit in one of the outdoor tables. Tying Fenrir's leash in a loose knot to her chair leg she gave a wave to the waitress handing out their menus. She was pretty much a regular here and knew all the waiters/waitresses by face (she was terrible with names).

After blond haired chick (dubbed thus by Evelyn in her head) left to get their drinks, Bucky started in on the Spanish Inquisition. "So," and the smirk was back, "Steve's told me about your little encounter with him in the alley. I have to say," looking her up and down, "you don't look like much. I'm having a hard time imagining you taking down anyone never mind a man twice your size." Smiling back at Bucky from over her menu she quipped, "I can give you a close up of how it happened. It'll be like you were really there. Side effects included." She finished off her sentence with a wink as Bucky laughed. "You are something else." Well that wasn't new news to her, but it was nice when others realized her greatness. "I know." "And so humble."

Putting her menu down (she always ordered the same thing so it was pointless to pretend she was reading it) she glanced from Bucky to Steve and asked, "So how do you two know each other.

It was Steve who answered. "We grew up in the same neighborhood. Met when we were kids." Bucky reached over to ruffle his hair, "We've been inseparable ever since." Evelyn could tell by the way they interacted with each other that they had been friends for as long as they claimed.

Batting his hand away Steve tried to flatten his back down. While he was doing that Bucky turned to her and continued his questioning, "How about you? Have you always lived in the Big Apple or did you come here 'chasing the American Dream'?" By the way he said the last part Evelyn got the feeling that he didn't put too much stock into the American Dream. Tapping a finger on the table she thought about how she would go answering. She wasn't … normal. Not like the others. She found that out that hard way when she survived something that should have, by rights, killed her immediately. As the years past she became more and more aware that she wasn't natural. This forced her to move at frequent intervals to avoid suspicion. As she hadn't met any others like her she came to the conclusion that she was a freak.

Noticing her pause was getting too long to be natural she responded with the barest truth. "I recently got here. Travel around a lot. Thought that I should try my hand at the city life." There. Not too vague and completely truthful. This didn't satisfy Bucky. "Do you have any family here?" Well that wasn't too bad. Steve had stopped fiddling with his hair and had turned his full attention to the conversation. Shrugging she continued her steady beat upon the table as she said, "No. They're all dead."

That stopped Bucky and he shifted uneasily in his seat. Steve looked pretty stricken too and stared at her sadly with his sky blue eyes. They both looked like they were bracing for something and Evelyn realized after a beat that they expected her to break down and cry. Rolling her eyes she quickly put those worries at rest. "Relax. It doesn't bother me. They all died a long time ago. I'm over it." If they knew how long she had to come to terms with their deaths and her subsequent not death they would be tripping over themselves to get away from her.

They no longer looked like they were bracing for something, but they still looked uneasy. "Seriously you guys. You're taking this harder than I am. Quit worrying. I'm not going to start bawling."

Steve seemed to understand and she knew he would leave it be when he simply said, "I'm sorry." She nodded at him in acknowledgement.

The mood lightened when the blond haired chick returned with their pop and whipped out her pad to write down their orders. Evelyn ordered the Italian Gumbo (she almost started drooling just thinking about it), Steve ended up being boring and just got spaghetti and meatballs, and Bucky ended up copying her and getting the Italian Gumbo. Loser.

As they waited for their lunch to come they talked about nonessential things, laughed and generally just having a good time in each other's company. Fenrir was content to nap at their feet. Throughout the conversations, many things were confirmed to Evelyn. That the fight she had pulled Steve from wasn't the first one and probably would be far from the last. That Steve had always been small, and by the way Bucky shot a quick glance to Steve she knew that he worried over his friend's health constantly. That Bucky was a good and loyal friend under all that flirting and posturing. That they were friend who would die for one another. It made her smile to know that such people still existed. The years had showed her how truly rare such a thing was.

Bucky had forgotten for a second that she was a woman and was telling the raunchiest joke she ever heard. Steve on the other hand was more than aware and blushed the entire time Bucky relayed it, looking embarrassed for his friend. Despite that she did end up laughing; it was funny (even though it would be hard pressed to get any cruder). Which made Bucky pause after he finished to look at her. In the end she couldn't tell whose face was redder. Bucky definitely looked relieved when their food was placed in front of them a second later. It had her grinning throughout the meal.

They mostly ate in silence other than the guys giving compliments over the food and how they would be coming back. Soon they were groaning over how stuffed they felt and, paying for their bill, wandered about trying to figure out how to finish up their day.

It was Bucky who suggested that they go to a bar. Evelyn pointed out that while the guy who owned the Italian restaurant may tolerate Fenrir, she would bet money that a bar wouldn't be as understanding. It was then decided that they would drop Fenrir off and then make their way to the bar.

Before they knew it they were wandering towards a joint that Bucky swore by. Held his hand over his heart and everything. Evelyn had grabbed Steve's arm once they made it back to the sidewalk outside of her apartment and didn't let go even when they wandered into the bar. Evelyn knew she shouldn't get so attached, but there was something about Steve and she couldn't help herself. Whatever it was, was the same reason she had brought him back to her place.

The bar was noisy and packed with people. Rich saxophone notes echoed out from the radio situated in the corner as couples twirled and moved across the open area serving as the dance floor. Bucky cut his way through the crowd all the way up to the bar with Evelyn and Steve bringing up the rear. There happened to be a few empty seats so Evelyn hopped up on one and Bucky shoved Steve into the other one. The bar tender came over to wipe down the section they were at while asking what they wanted. Bucky seemed to be the one in charge for the night as he ordered the 'usual' for the three of them. Which, unsurprisingly, turned out to be beer.

Sighing she grabbed the beer and took a swig. It wasn't that she didn't like beer it was more like … it was hard to like something that was supposed to make you inebriated when it didn't. Was it too much to ask to feel drunk just once? Apparently whatever it was that kept her alive thought so.

Steve only lightly sipped at his. Which she didn't blame him for. If she couldn't get drunk it looked like Steve could in a heartbeat. All that lack of fat and everything. Before she knew it she had finished off her beer with Bucky looking at her in amazement as he ordered her another. Ignoring the second beer she turned to Steve, grabbed his hand, pulled him off the chair and dragged him onto the dance floor with, "I love this song. Let's dance

Placing the hand she currently was holding on her hip, she then threw her arms over his shoulders. Her being a little bit taller than him kinda threw their tempo off (and even though the song currently playing wasn't a slow song) Evelyn quickly managed to get them into a slow, swaying rhythm. After a moment she wished she wasn't quite so tall so that she could rest her head on Steve's shoulder without it being awkward. Other than that she was having a really nice time. Quick peek at Steve's face showed that he was as flustered as she had imagined when she had grabbed his hand. Bucky was grinning at them like a moron from the bar and Evelyn quickly squashed the very un-lady like urge to give him her middle finger. It would do no good for Steve to think of her as more manly than he probably already did. Ugh. Manners.

After the song ended she was quick to drag Steve back to the bar. Slow and steady seemed to be the way to go when it involved Steve. That is, if she didn't want him expiring on her due to a heart attack. Shoving him into his seat and handing him his beer he took a long drag from the later. Bucky had caught the eye of some poor, unsuspecting dame and was currently twirling her around and laughing.

Smiling softly Evelyn took a steady pull from her glass. This was the most fun she had had in years. She really needed to get out more.

Before long the night had worn down, Evelyn had drank three beers (to the amazement of not only Bucky and Steve but the bartender as well) and everyone was slowly heading out the door back in the direction of their homes. Evelyn really didn't want to go. She wanted to prolong this night for as long as she physically could. It would serve as a bright memory in the upcoming years which she knew would be bleak. And considering the time that she had left with Steve; every moment needed to utilized.

Sighing she was forced to acknowledge that the night was coming to an end. Turning to Bucky and Steve she said, "Guess we'll be heading home now. I had a great time we should do it again sometime soon." Steve's answering smile was brilliant and Bucky seemed genuinely pleased to meet up again. It was either that or the fact that she looked at Steve when she said it. For someone who was such a huge flirt, he always looked pleased that she barely paid any attention to him.

Nodding his head Bucky agreed. "We'll walk you home before heading out. We are after all gentlemen."

Eye roll.

It took an unfortunately short amount of time to reach her apartment. Instead of saying good bye, Evelyn wrapped her arms around Bucky and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Muttering against his skin she whispered, "Go wait for Steve at the corner," and emphasized the point by shoving him in that direction once she let him go.

After she was satisfied that Bucky was far enough away she turned to Steve. Despite the fact that she couldn't really die, she lived by the motto: Live life to the fullest. Which is why she placed her hands on either side of Steve's face and kissed him.

His lips were soft and they molded deliciously against her own, even if they weren't pressing back. Moving her arms so that they encircled his shoulders she pressed the full length of her body against his own.

She wouldn't lie, he was terribly thin and sharp angles nudged against her softer curves, but it was Steve. And that made it one of the best kisses she ever (sort of) received.

Pulling back she made sure that she was still flush against him as she stared into his eyes and smiled, "You know this event kind of needs the participation of two people. Not one person and a statue," and with that she kissed him again hoping he got the hint and would start kissing back.

After a moment where Evelyn thought she was going to go into heart failure she felt Steve wrap his arms around her waist and hesitantly press back into the kiss. She almost swooned. At first there were soft, whispering presses against her own before he got bold enough to properly press back. Evelyn had to prevent herself from shoving her tongue in his mouth and tasting him. Baby steps she told herself.

When air became an issue they broke apart and Evelyn buried her head in the juncture of Steve's shoulder and neck. Breathing deeply she tried to imprint the way he smelled into her memory. Like sandalwood and a hint of spice. It made her shiver.

Lifting her head she smiled softly and laughed in delight when he smiled back without a hint of blush on his face. Giving him one last kiss she pulled away and whispered into his ear, "You better call this time."

Watching her walk up the steps to her apartment he said, "Yes Ma'am," before turning and meeting Bucky at the corner.

Evelyn waited by the door to her apartment building and watched them walk down the street with Bucky playfully jabbing Steve the whole way back.


	4. Chapter 4

So tell me if you think this is progressing with the lovin too fast. I have to admit that I was in the mood when I began writing this to just jump right into a romance. I can't help thinking how adorable per serum Steve is and how much of a gentleman.

Merry Christmas!

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Evelyn had spent the rest of the night squealing like a girl and gushing to Fenrir about what had happened outside of the apartment. She knew he didn't understand a single thing she said, but every time he tilted his head or woofed she could pretend that he was saying _Go for it. _Which she would. Vigorously.

Steve was true to his word and ended up calling her early the next morning. She had to try very hard not to scream when she heard that it was his voice on the other end. He didn't stutter at all when he asked if they could meet up later that day in the park to talk. Evelyn barely heard the rest of his sentence after meet up. She caught the time before she garbled out something that sounds affirmative and hung up.

She stared at the phone for several heartbeats before rushing to her couch and screaming into one of the pillows. Fenrir was resting on the other end and barely opened his eyes when the cushions shifted from her throwing herself on them. Her scream however made his ears lie flat.

After she had almost smothered herself she had run around the room trying to pick the perfect outfit. It quickly came apparent that, just like her lack of life, she lacked a nice wardrobe as well. She would have to fix that. The best she could come up with was technically an underdress that she would have worn under one of her heavy 1800's dresses, but this was the 20th century and if she wanted her underclothes to act like normal clothes … well no one was alive from then to tell her any differently. Or have a heart attack over her running around in basically her underwear.

It was white and had simple embroidery and it breathed. The last was what she really cared about. Hey it got hot in the summers. So sue her.

The time to meet Steve came faster than she was ready and she spent a few moments debating whether or not to bring Fenrir with her. She decided that she would make it up to him and she shouted that declaration to the lump on the couch before flying out her door and down the stairs.

It took an embarrassingly short amount of time for her to reach the park. Once it came into view she had to force herself to walk like a normal human being to get her breathing under control (and to get rid of the flush in her cheeks). She needed to act somewhat normal around Steve for the next couple of weeks before he found out how crazy she was. Cuz by then it would be too late to get rid of her.

Wandering through the section she had been playing fetch with Fenrir she saw the current object of her thoughts sitting on one of the benches that had been strategically placed under an old oak tree. Steve smiled and waved once he caught sight of her and stood up from the bench just in time for Evelyn to throw her arms around him and to place a quick kiss on his cheek. Letting go she grabbed his hand and smiling at him said, "Do you want to walk around and talk?" Curling his fingers back around her own (victory!) he responded, "That sounds like a good idea. I know a really nice trail that winds through here." And with that they were off.

The first couple of minutes were spent in silence. Evelyn was just enjoying the fact that they were on a date (yes it was a date dammit) but could tell that Steve was prepping himself to bring up whatever it was that he had been thinking on. Well, she had all the time in the world and part of her plan of wooing was to not scare Steve off. Keeping her mouth shut seemed like a good place to start. Which she was quickly finding out was harder than she thought. She had no idea how much she blabbed even if it was just to Fenrir. Her middle name should have been motor mouth and oh! Steve was saying something. Focus!

"Evelyn … I'm um not sure how to say this. Hm," he was resolutely looking at the path they were walking and Evelyn could see the fingers of his right hand tapping a nervous pattern against his thigh. She watched him from the corner of her eye as he took in a deep breath and then, "Arewedating?"

Stopping she blinked and turned to look at him. She had no idea what just spilled from his mouth and by the red that was quickly spreading across his nose she could tell that he didn't want to say it again. Well tough for him. Tugging at his hand lightly she quipped, "I didn't know you spoke gibberish. Unfortunately I do not. How about repeating that last bit in the English language for the rest of us normal speakers." The flush was slowly making its way down his neck.

Rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand he ducked his head and mumbled into his collar (which wasn't any better than before but at least she could semi understand it now) "Are we dating?"

Evelyn had to stop herself from awing. If that wasn't a self-confidence killer noting was. Instead she tugged his hand so he was facing her and tilted his chin up so she could look him in the eye. Still smiling she moved to cup his cheek as she said, "I thought it was understood when I said that I would be honored to get to know you better. The kiss on the cheek should have been a pretty big hint," she joked. When Steve didn't look convinced she dropped the joking and continued in her most serious tone, "Yes Steve we are dating. Unless," and here she paused. Normally she couldn't comprehend the meaning of self-conscious, but this was different. She really, really, liked Steve. For some completely unknown reason that would probably have her up at night trying to figure it out. But she did. She had never, not once, had took into consideration that Steve wouldn't be as gungho with the idea as she was and swallowing past the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat she continued, "Unless you don't want to date." And then it was her turn to duck her head and stare resolutely at the floor.

That caused Steve's blush to vanish as quickly as it had come and wide eyed he stared at her and practically shouted, "No!" then backpedaled, "I mean yes I want to … I didn't mean no that I don't … Yes! Yes I want to d..date," the blush returned with a vengeance. Softly he continued while gently lifting her head up so that he could stare at her eyes. Talk about a role reversal. "Evelyn, I would be greatly honored if you would be my girlfriend." The smile he sent her way at the end of his sentence out shown the sun.

Laughing she threw her arms over his shoulders and hugged him tight, (self-conscious, pffft she never heard of the word, like he was ever going to say no. I mean look at her!) pressing her smile against the curve of his neck. This was definitely one of the top five best days of her life. Leaning back she gave him a quick peck before grabbing his hand again and leading him down the path they had been following.

The next few minutes were full of light laughter and for the love of God she couldn't stop smiling. She was pleased to see that Steve couldn't help himself either. At least she wasn't the only one to look like a loon. After a moment Evelyn had to start up a conversation. Never let it be known that Evelyn Howl (yes seriously) was able to remain silent for more than three minutes. "How's Bucky? Do you guys live together or …" Well there wasn't anything really besides living together or not. Steve shrugged, "Well technically we don't live together, but we crash at each other's places so often that we might as well. What about you? Do you live with anyone?" Steve was curious. He hadn't noticed anyone that first time he had been in there getting patched up but that didn't really mean anything. Her roommate could have been out or something.

Evelyn shook her head in response. "Nope," popping the p, "It's just me and Fenrir. Pretty much always has been," she shrugged, "It's not too bad."

Steve squeezed her hand in response. "Must be lonely."

"You get used to it. Eventually." Another shrug. It wasn't that she felt uncomfortable about the conversation, but there was only so much to talk about living alone. She lived alone. End of story.

Turning the conversation to safer topics, Evelyn recalled reading something about an Expo when she had last picked up a newspaper (which didn't happen very often … or ever).

"Oh! Do you know anything about that Expo that supposed to happen? Don't know much about it, but it looks interesting." Ok, so that may have been a tiny lie. She honestly couldn't recall anything about it (or if she even read the article in the first place). For all she knew it could have been some type of farming fair. Dull.

Steve looked at her in slight surprise, "I didn't know you were into technology. (Oh so that was what it was all about). I had read about it. It isn't supposed to happen till next summer, and I'm sure I'll be going regardless. Bucky will want to go just to meet girls," he choked once he realized it could be inferred that he would be going to meet the dames as well and backtracked, "Not that I would be … I mean Bucky would drag me … I don't need to … I … have … you?" he ended in a question. He slapped a hand over his eyes in mortification.

Evelyn just giggled, "You really don't know how to talk to women don't you?"

Realizing that she wasn't mad Steve let his hand fall, "This is the longest, continued, conversation I have ever had with one. Women aren't exactly lining up to speak with someone smaller than them." The last part of his sentence sounded slightly bitter. She could tell that he was thinking of all the times a dame had looked him over.

Tugging his hand she pulled him so they faced one another before cupping his cheek with her free hand and lightly kissed him. Pulling back she let her hand fall to his shoulder, "Well, it's their loss. And you know what? I'm glad that they were shallow enough to do so. Now that I have you it'll be hard pressed to get you away from me."

Steve stared at her and she could see the disbelief hovering behind his eyes. She would have to fix that. Time would do a good job at removing most of it and it would probably be the only time she would be thankful to the bastard. Wherever he was … um, floating or something.

"Why _are_ you dating me?"

Sighing she rolled her eyes. This battle against his self-consciousness was going to be a looong one. But oh so worth it. That dude who said, "Good things come to those who wait" had his head screwed on right.

"Steve, if I was to ask you to describe yourself what would you say?"

Her response wasn't what he was expecting and after looking taken aback he tilted his head thoughtfully to the ground as he thought.

Evelyn had to resist the urge to jiggle her foot. Ugh, suspense!

"Well," the sentence started hesitantly and every word that followed seemed to be pulled from him, "Weak, small, idealistic, dreamer," Evelyn cut him off before he could continue.

"If you continue I will have to punch you," she said after slapping a hand over his mouth. "And I'm not too sure who told you those things and if I ever have the misfortune of doing so I'll give them the same treatment I gave the guy who was beating you up last week." Steve winced slightly under her hand. Whether it was to the beating or her well placed kick she didn't know. "Furthermore you are none of those things!"

Steve gently removed her hand and smiled a bit wistfully. "You may be the only person besides Bucky who believes that." Evelyn shook her head vehemently in response. "No! That's not true!"

"How would you describe me then?"

Evelyn didn't even have to pause and think.

"You are one of the bravest people I know. Not many people would stand up for themselves and question what others are doing. Yes you may be small, but that has nothing to do with character. A dreamer? At least you fight for what you believe in, even if you may lose. Not many can say that! And do you know how I know this?" Steve shook his head wide eyed and looking like he kinda wanted to flee. Evelyn gripped his hand tighter. "I got all of this by watching you with that bully in the alley. Now I don't know what started it, but I know most would have coward from the meat head. Not you. That tells me enough about who Steve Rogers is! Screw the others!"

Whoops. She had meant to say that last bit in her head, but well, whatever. She meant it. Never mind that was supposed to be said out loud.

There was an old lady walking her rat dog behind Steve who looked like she was going to go into cardiac arrest over her language. Well she shouldn't have been listening in. Nosy busy body.

Seeing a tree nearby that would provide excellent shade and, more important, privacy Evelyn dragged Steve towards it. Reaching the roots she plopped herself down and still holding Steve's hand, forced him down beside her. Once he was situated she moved her hand from his to wrap around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.

The next couple of minutes were one of those rare times when Evelyn didn't feel the need to fill it with words. Resting against Steve may have been a littttttle uncomfortable but Evelyn figured she had more than enough curves for the both of them. (And muscle. It was there somewhere.)

Steve had closed his eyes and was resting his head against the tree trunk when a girl around their age walked by. She gave Steve a once over before wrinkling her nose in distaste. Evelyn was so glad that Steve didn't see and gave the girl her scariest glare. She would have gone up and punched something delicate (like her boob) but she didn't want to disturb Steve and make him away.

This glare must have been particularly black since the girl recoiled and quickly scampered away.

Once Evelyn had the pleasure of not seeing her she grinned. Her glaring skills were unparalleled. Squeezing Steve's waist she closed her eyes and started to relax with the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat when he cut through the silence with, "Thank you."

For a split second she thought he was talking about the bitch from 5 minutes ago, but taking a quick peek at his face she saw that his eyes were still closed. Willing her heart back to normal she asked, "What are you thanking me for?"

Feeling him shrug lightly he buried his face in her curls before mumbling, "For being you. For accepting me. For helping me that day in the alley. I don't know."

There wasn't much to say to that and Evelyn didn't feel like disrupting the peace they had found themselves in so she pressed a kiss against his neck in response.

She had to stop herself from giving him a hickie.


	5. Chapter 5

Hope everyone had a great holiday. Thank you so much for the reviews. They make me smile :)

I do not own Captain America. (I do work with a guy called Steve Rogers though. Made my day when I learned his name)

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The next couple of months were spent hanging out with Steve and Bucky. Most of the time Bucky would be out doing the odd job and Steve's time was sporadic depending on when his classes for art school were. The first time she had seen one of his pencil sketches it had been lying on his living room table, matted and looking like it was about to be placed in a frame. After she remarked upon the detail Evelyn had asked Steve where he had bought it since she was thinking of getting one herself. The image she had been looking at was of a street in Brooklyn done in remarkable detail and managed to capture the energy of the city.

When Steve had mumbled out that he had drawn the sketch she was admiring her jaw almost hit the floor. It was really good. That was when he had told her about art school and how he managed to get in on a scholarship. It was official, she was impressed. The only thing Steve didn't seem to be capable of was anything athletic, but that was ok. She was semi-athletic. Kinda.

After she had heaped praise upon him for his talent she demanded a sketch that captured the life and energy of the city as well. It would be a good keepsake. For many reasons. Steve had blushed at her praise and promised her a sketch.

She had it by the end of the week.

It immediately was matted and framed and hung in its honorary place near her bed. She looked at it every night before going to sleep.

Slowly but surely Steve grew more confident in their relationship. He no longer second guessed everything and was starting to take the initiative.

Bucky continued to tease him and one day when Evelyn and Steve had been cuddling on his couch Bucky commented that she had him wrapped around her finger. Steve surprised everyone by saying that even if it was true he was managing to date someone and he didn't see Bucky with a dame on his arm. Evelyn couldn't help but say, "Burn," in the wake of the shock silence and had discreetly high fived Steve while Bucky had stood there with his mouth hanging open.

For some reason the teasing became almost non-existent after that.

The longer the relationship went on and the easier they fell into each other's rhythms the more Evelyn debated about how she was going to bring up her not normal thing. Despite the fact that she just wanted to blurt, "Hey guess what! I can't die or get really hurt! Let's go to the movies!" she didn't see that going over too well.

She also knew that she had to tell him soon before he found out by accident. Frankly she was surprised that something hadn't tipped him off before now since she did hold the honorary title of Clumsiest Thing on Two Legs. There was one time that was a near miss. She had been cutting up vegetables for a dinner that she was attempting to create (Praying the entire time that it would come out edible) when she slit her finger from fingertip to knuckle.

Steve had been resting on her couch listening to the radio when it had happened. She had bit her lip in time to stifle her yelp (more out of surprise than pain) and watched as the wound healed itself in seconds. Moping up the blood quickly she shoved the bloody napkins deep in the trash so they wouldn't be immediately seen and continued on like nothing unusual had happened.

Her heart had raced at the thought of Steve turning around and seeing her wound, racing over to help. That as not the way she wanted him to find out.

Ever since that near miss, however, all she could think about was how she was going to bring it up. And she knew that if she told Steve, Bucky was sure to find out as well. Those two told each other everything. They gossiped worse than two old women.

To Evelyn's relief and disappointment, there never seemed to be a good enough time to bring it up. And the excuses she had most definitely didn't play a part in pushing the topic off. Nope.

It turned out that the way Steve did find out was much worse than if he had turned around and saw her little wound with the first accident.

They had been on a date (which was starting to be a steady, reoccurring thing) when the robbery took place.

Returning from the Italian restaurant that Evelyn had taken the boys to that first time, they had wandered past the drug store that was conveniently located on a corner street near Evelyn's apartment when they heard the commotion going on within. They had stupidly stopped and stared at the conflict taking place when the police pulled up with a squeal of tires and sirens behind them. The thugs, spooked by the arrival of the law, lifted their hand guns to shoot at the cops as they made their way through the exit located at the back of the store.

Evelyn saw the whole thing in slow motion. She could see what was going to happen before realizing that yes, those men did have guns and yes, they were about to shoot them. Instinctively she pushed Steve behind her while simultaneously trying to drag them out of range when the first bullets shattered the glass in front of them.

She felt a massive punch to her left shoulder before they managed to clear the windows. She had been shot. And this was her favorite top! (Which was the highly inappropriate thought that raced through her head once she realized what had happened.) Fire raced down her arm as she pressed her hand against the wound as she tried to hide it from Steve. Which was wishful thinking, but hey she could try.

By this time Steve had managed to turn his attention away from the chaos unfolding before him and was reaching for her hand to drag her away when he realized that they were both somewhat occupied. Well her right hand was anyway her left just kinda hung there like a dead fish. Which, of course, was the moment when he noticed the small ribbons of blood that had seeped from between her fingers and were merrily making their way down the back of her hand.

If his eyes got any wider they would fall out of his head.

"Evelyn!" he gasped, before she cut him off.

"Steve, not now. Let's get out of here and back to your apartment."

"You're hurt!"

"Not now!"

She felt a little bad when Steve flinched back from her snapping, but they had to get away. The sounds of gun fire were increasing and a crowd was gathering at the scene. They needed to get out of there before someone else realized she was injured and tried to take her to the hospital. That would not end well.

Ignoring the ache in her left arm she grabbed Steve's hand and pulled him in the direction of his apartment. Which was helpfully located in the opposite direction of the drug store.

Everyone was so focused on the excitement in the drug store that they managed to make it to the apartment quicker than usual.

Evelyn had groaned when she saw Bucky lounging about on the couch (could her luck get ANY worse?) which Steve took to be a moan of pain and managed to freak out and become paler than a corpse. All in the span of half a second.

"Bucky!" Steve half shouted, half chocked as he pushed Evelyn on the spare space of the couch and tried to move the fabric of her shirt that was covering her wound. His hands were shaking so bad that Evelyn had to push them away and pull him down to sit next to her. He kept managing to push against her hand which put more pressure on the bullet hole which hurt! Dammit!

Bucky had leapt to his feet, the magazine he was reading falling forgotten on the floor (which Evelyn would place money on was a playboy magazine), as he took in Steve's pale, wide eyed and shaky countenance and her grimacing expression.

"Is that BLOOD!?"

When Steve gave a jerky affirmative Bucky raced to the kitchen to grab a towel and some water all the while rapidly asking questions in a pitch that a man of Bucky's height and weight should never reach.

"What happened? Why is Evelyn bleeding? Were you guys mugged? I told you to back down from flight Steve! Now look! Evelyn is hurt!"

The question had become increasingly blameworthy as Bucky rushed back and Evelyn cut him off with a glare. "It wasn't Steve's fault," she grit out between clenched teeth. The wound was starting to throb and she knew she had to take the bullet out before her skin healed over it. Cutting herself up to get it was not on her to do list. "Do you have some scissors?"

As Bucky raced off yet again to get the requested item Evelyn turned to Steve who had yet to say a word since his screamed Bucky.

Her poor boyfriend looked like he was going to faint as he stared at the bright crimson liquid slowly coating her hand over. Reaching over she rubbed his knee, "Steve, its fine don't worry. It's nothing serious."

That jerked him out of whatever funk he had fallen into.

"Not serious?" he whispered staring aghast at her face. "Evelyn! You were … are … shot! We should be at a hospital!"

Whatever else he was going to say was interrupted by Bucky barreling back to them with the scissors held over his head like the Olympic torch. "I found them!"

Rolling her eyes Evelyn removed her hand from her wound. While it had started to heal it was still bleeding pretty freely and the blood quickly stained the left side of her shirt. Bucky was soon competing with Steve on who could turn the paler shade of white.

Taking the scissors from Bucky's hand she quickly cut a jagged hole through the fabric of her shirt so the wound would be visible. (Eh it was ruined beyond all repair now. Not much else could be done to the poor fabric unless one of the boys threw up on her).

The skin around the entrance hole was serrated. Blood seeped out in time with her heart beat like a morbid faucet. Taking a quick glance at Steve and Bucky she scowled seeing their faces. If she had to deal with them fainting on her while dealing with this they wouldn't sit well for a week!

"Hey! No fainting ok! Especially with what happens next got it!"

"What's going to happen OH MY GOD!"

Which is what Bucky screamed when Evelyn dug her thumb and forefinger of her right hand straight into the bullet wound. Steve just swayed on his spot next to her.

She couldn't help the groan of pain escape as she dug around trying to search for the elusive piece of metal. She had been shot before (long story) so she knew what to look for, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt like a bitch! No matter her healing ability there was no building up a tolerance to pain. You just learned after a while that no matter how much you screamed, cried or begged, the pain wasn't going anywhere.

Might as well suck it up and deal.

Steve managed to get over his vertigo when she let loose her third groan (hey no one's perfect) and jumped to his feet. Bucky was currently gripping the table in front of the couch as if it were the only thing keeping him up. Judging by his wide eyed, open mouthed expression it probably was.

"We need to go to the hospital," Steve said firmly with a tiny little waver underscoring his demand.

Evelyn ignored him as she had just brushed against the base of the bullet and was maneuvering her nails to grip the grooves so she could yank it out in one go.

The last time she had done this she had been by herself with no one for company. Now before she ripped the sucker out she gripped Steve's hand in a death grip with her bad one and almost broke the poor man's fingers as she pulled.

Once it was out she dropped it in the bowl of water Bucky had brought over and with a small ping it settled at the bottom. Evelyn let out a sigh of relief as the flesh knit over faster now that the obstruction was removed.

Bucky continued to stare like a moron as Steve immediately pressed his unoccupied hand over the wound. Evelyn smiled up at him as she awed in her head. He was trying to prevent more blood loss how sweet.

Gently she tried to remove his hand which he fought saying a bit brokenly, "You've already lost too much blood."

Leaving his hand where it was she reached up and cupped his cheek. Which wasn't very sanitary, but he hardly seemed to notice that she was leaving bloody marks as he focused on keeping his hand steady.

"Steve," she said rubbing her thumb under his eye. It took a moment, but he was able to pull his eyes away from her shoulder to look at her. Seeing the vulnerability in his eyes she sighed and tugged him down so he was sitting next to her. (Again).

"Steve," she started, "there's something I need to tell you."

Shaking his head he stood up and pulled on her (uninjured) arm, "We NEED to get to the hospital Evelyn! Why aren't you listening to me?"

The stress of what just happened and what she was going to tell him caused her to snap. "Steve! I'm fine. Look there's nothing there!" Dipping her fingers in the water bowl she rubbed at the drying blood on her shoulder to reveal smooth skin. Not even a scar was left behind.

Steve started at the lack of wound and additional blood while Bucky made a noise like a creaky metal gate.

Yanking Steve down again Evelyn took in a deep breath before spilling everything in one go.

"Here's the thing, I'm not normal. I mean I'm human (I think), but I heal really, really fast, I don't want to go and test it out but I think that I'm close to immortal, I mean I don't think I can die, I should be dead by all accounts. And I didn't know how to tell you without you freaking out and running in the opposite direction and I love you Steve and I didn't want to lose that and have to move and … and," to Evelyn's utter mortification she could feel tears well up before they spilled down her cheeks in a torrent.

She was honestly deeply afraid that they would scream and run. Maybe tell someone what they had just witnessed. She would have to move again. Pack up her meager possessions (and Fenrir) and head west.

Despite all the thoughts racing through her head Evelyn found that she didn't want to leave Steve. Even if he was disgusted by her, if he let her stay she would. She knew, instinctively, that she would never feel the same about anyone no matter how long she lived (as sappy as that sounded).

Her tears halted for a moment and her breath stilled as she came to the realization that she wanted a life with Steve. Well now that that was all shot to hell she started crying again twice as hard.

And she was not a pretty crier.

When Steve just continued to stare she hiccupped between gasps (she was working herself into a frenzy), "P… please say something."

When nothing was forthcoming she stood up and, attempting to smother herself with her clenched fist, made her way to the door. Or she would have if Steve would let go of her hand.

Keeping her back to him she stared resolutely at the door. If they wanted to yell at her they could. She would stand there and take it. When they were done she'll yank her wrist out of Steve's grip and walk out of their lives forever.

What happened next made the worst day of her life turn into one of the best.

Steve gently tugged so she would face him, but Evelyn was still expecting the worst so if he wanted to face her and scream he would have to move. Not her.

She could hear him move around her, his warm hand still wrapped around her own. When he stopped in front of her line of vision with the door she tilted her head to stare at the floor. A heart beat passed before he cupped her chin and forced her to look at him.

Him smiling wasn't something she was expecting.

The blood that she had inadvertently smeared on his cheek had dried, cracked and was flaking. Instead of staring at his eyes she focused on that.

"Evelyn," he started simply. He didn't yell. He didn't scream. He started talking to her like the last forty five minutes hadn't happened. "Evelyn," he said again trying to get her to look him in the eye. Well tough beans buddy. That wasn't happening.

He ducked trying to look her in the eye and she dodged. This continued for a few seconds before he laughed. That caused her to finally look at him.

"You're still Evelyn," he said, as if that simple sentence explained everything.

"What?"

He laughed again shaking his head lightly. His face was so open and trusting and filled with love that she engraved the expression into her memories. There wasn't much else that was going to keep her company in no man's land.

"Did you really mean it?"

"Mean what?" she parroted back stupidly.

"That you loved me."

Evelyn felt the train that was the thoughts rushing around her head pull on the emergency brakes, screech and topple of its tracks before piling up and exploding. No she didn't say that! that would be ridiculous. It was way too early to break out the L word. Not to mention the tiny detail of SHE JUST PULLED A BULLET OUT OF HER SHOULDER!

She quickly reran her whole word vomit speech in her head before realized that HOLY SHIT she broke out the L word at THE WORST possible time. Well she already had one foot in the grave so to speak, might as well get it all out before she disappeared.

With a calm that she most certainly did not feel she went with brutal honesty.

"Yes."

Bucky continued to gap in the background as Steve continued to smile softly in response to her simple answer. Stepping forward he released her hand, and not even glancing at the still sticky blood that clung to her shirt, gave her a hug, tight enough to force the air from her lungs.

Hesitantly (and still more than ninety percent certain he was still going to run away) she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed back. After a moment when he still hadn't pulled away Evelyn buried her head into Steve's neck and began crying.

She felt his hand run soothing circles across her back before he pressed his lips against the shell of her ear in a kiss and whispered, "I love you too."

Evelyn only cried harder.

* * *

After she had finally managed to calm down, she all but collapsed on the couch. Steve was right there beside her and she moved around until she was more on him than the sofa.

Bucky had taken one look at them and said, "If Steve's good with this then I'm good with it," then walked out of the apartment back to his where, "The world still made sense."

Evelyn and Steve had stayed up for another hour cuddling and talking more about her abilities. For most she could only say, "I don't know." Since she didn't. It wasn't like there was anyone around to tell her why she was like this, so most of it was guess work.

Once the questions had dwindled Evelyn became aware of how uncomfortable she was (you know being covered in blood and all). When she asked Steve if she could use his shower (it wasn't like she could go out in public like this. Her left boob was practically out there for all and sundry!) he had blushed to the tips of his ears before spitting out an affirmative.

Handing her a towel and one of Bucky's shirts that he had left behind (she loved Steve and all, but there was no way she was fitting into one of his shirts) he mumbled that he would be waiting on the couch before high tailing it out of his bedroom. Sometimes he was such a gentleman that it gave her a toothache.

Taking a quick shower and having a moment when it hit that she was naked in Steve's apartment, she quickly toweled off and attempted to quickly get the worse blood stains out of her bra. Throwing on that, her underwear and Bucky's shirt she made her way back to the living room while drying her hair.

Steve had taken one look at her, his blush returning with a vengeance, before saying something in gibberish and running to the bathroom.

Laughing she made her way to his bedroom. (It was late, she was tired, and she wasn't walking to her apartment in Bucky's shirt). Sitting down on the bed she grabbed one of the pillows and drawing the blanket around her, Evelyn soon fell asleep with the sound of Steve's shower playing gently in the background.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey Everyone. Sorry about the last update, the charger for my computer mysteriously (seriously I can't find it at all and it almost never leaves my room …. ever!) disappeared so my laptop has been dead for about two weeks! :(

Anywho hope this makes up for it and chapter seven should be up soon as well.

Disclaimer: I do not own Captain America

* * *

Evelyn woke up to something poking her stomach.

Shifting she tried to squirm away from it, but found her movements constrained. Opening her eyes she immediately slapped a hand over her face as a direct beam of sunlight had managed to find its way through the blinds and land perfectly in her direct line of view. Stupid sun.

Turning her gaze away from the beam of light she noticed an arm wrapped loosely around her waist. Which now explained why she couldn't move. Following the arm she came face to face with a still sleeping Steve.

Smiling she settled back into his embrace and stared at him. She couldn't remember him coming into bed with her (though she wished she had been awake for it … it must have taken him ages to finally get in) but Evelyn quickly decided that she could get used to waking up like this. She would have to go about convincing Steve though. Even if he liked waking up this way as well it was all about being a gentleman with him. She liked to think she was loosening him up a bit. Case in point her waking up in his bed.

They were just hitting milestones left and right these days.

Shifting closer she tucked her head under his chin and lightly kissed his throat before closing her eyes and attempting to fall back asleep.

Which would have been easier if that poking sensation hadn't returned.

Furrowing her brows she reached down to shove whatever the hell it was away. As her fingers made contact with the obstruction she froze, turned bright red and stared up at Steve in utter mortification as he groaned and thrusted lightly against her hand.

Slowly removing her hand after he settled so he wouldn't wake up and go into cardiac arrest over what just happened, she placed it on his chest right before his arms tightened and pulled her flush up against him. The reason for her face burning brighter than the sun was nestled snug against her stomach and she groaned low in her throat as heat curled through her core.

Steve's shifting against her wasn't helping matters either.

Knowing that if Steve woke up and found her awake it would set back all the progress that they had made, she (tried to) ignore what was happening, beat the blush back into submission and closed her eyes while burying her face into Steve's neck and breathing slowly and deeply.

She knew she shouldn't be acting embarrassed over a natural reaction, but this was the closest she had ever been to a guy. Hell, she could count all the guys that she had kissed on one hand and still have plenty of fingers left over. Besides it wasn't like she was bothered by it (well she was, but it was the good bothered, the hot, lusty, achy bothered andddd she needed to get her mind out of the gutter pronto. Before something awkward happened).

Steve sighed, and as he moved around, Evelyn could tell that he was waking up. Which was only confirmed when she felt him stiffen. By the lack of air moving she assumed he had stopped breathing as well.

Forcing herself to remain still and to continue breathing slowly Evelyn felt him shift carefully away. She almost gave herself away and moaned in disappointment when he fully slid off the bed but just grumbled sleepily and shifted under the blanket.

A minute passed before a soft pressure ran down the side of her face as Steve gently ran the pads of his fingers over her brow and cheek before pulling away.

Opening her eyes to the barest of slits she saw him standing over the bed. He was dressed in an undershirt and boxers, the latter of which were strained and seemed to be pointing right at her.

Evelyn rubbed her thighs together in response.

All this tension was going to kill her.

Before she could drop the whole fake sleeping act and throw herself at Steve he moved and wandered into the bathroom. The water began running a second later followed by soft groans.

It took her a minute to understand what it was she was hearing, but when she did she had to bite her lip hard to prevent the moan _she_ wanted to let loose. Rubbing her thighs together again Evelyn buried her face into the pillow, half hoping that it would suffocate her.

On second thought maybe she wouldn't survive waking up next to Steve every morning if they were all going to turn out like this one. She might end up spontaneously combusting from the heat and frustration since nothing would relieve it until marriage. Steve seemed like one of those guys. And that solution wouldn't be for a while yet.

Desperately she thought of the grossest things she could. Festering wounds, grannies having sex, wrinkly asses.

It helped somewhat and just when she felt she could beat her arousal down Steve cried out before groaning, which went on for a good ten seconds.

All the blood shot south.

It had still been soft enough that if she had been truly asleep she wouldn't have heard it and she quickly wondered if Steve still expected her to be asleep when he came out or not. She decided to go with just waking up.

A second before the door to the bathroom opened Evelyn ruffled her hair and slowly sat up on the bed while rubbing at her eye. Okay so it might have been overkill, but she didn't want him suspecting that she had been awake for his finale.

Apparently he wasn't expecting her to be awake since he walked out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He blushed and ducked his head when he saw she was conscious but Evelyn hardly noticed. God he was so sexy. Yes he was on the thin side and she knew she was a part of a very (very) small group of women who thought so, but dam!

She felt something throb between her legs as she let her gaze follow a drop of water making its way slowly down his chest before disappearing into the towel. Okay that was it. She needed some contact or she might actually keel over.

Leaping from the bed she threw her arms around his shoulders before crushing her lips to his. She groaned, swiping her tongue across his bottom lip and nipping at it. He gave a startled twitch at that before pressing back and opening his mouth. Evelyn immediately thrust her tongue past his teeth as they panted heavily against each other. God, but she loved the taste of him.

She could feel him stiffening against her belly and, knowing it was going a bit too far, wrenched her mouth from his, swiped her tongue over his collar bone, whispered into his ear, "You are _so _sexy," and sprinted into the bathroom.

Turning on the water she let the spray go as cold as it was able before stepping into the shower. The cold killed her arousal then and there which was what she was going for. Once she was sure it wouldn't come flaring back to life she allowed the water to get warm.

This was going to be more difficult than she thought.

* * *

Steve stood in the middle of his bedroom staring at his bathroom door for longer than he cared to admit.

He didn't know why Evelyn had decided all those weeks ago that he was a catch and had practically demanded that they date, but he found himself thanking God each day that this was real and there was someone out there that liked him for him. And now, after last night's confusing events (which he was still trying to wrap his head around) he had confirmation that she loved him.

Loved Him!

She was so beautiful too. _How could anyone love this, _he thought glancing down at his skinny chest and lack of muscle. He didn't doubt that Evelyn found him attractive; she was a very touchy feely person and was constantly holding his hand or pressing the side of her body against his, but he still couldn't help asking the question every now and again. There had been no one before Evelyn. He had always been Steve, the kid everyone looked down on, pushed aside or even worse, looked over.

Then Evelyn had come into his life and everything before suddenly no longer mattered. If he had had any lingering doubts those would have been blown out of the water by the make out session they had five minutes ago.

He knew that there wouldn't be anyone after Evelyn as well. And not for the fact that no one else would consider dating him. He had never felt this way before and he was sure that even if he lived ten lifetimes, he wouldn't be able to find this feeling again.

It had taken a while for him to push back his insecurities. Years of having the same (negative) thing thrown into your face would do that. But Evelyn had shown that while she was hyper, clumsy and straightforward, she was also the most patient person he had ever met. She hadn't grown annoyed at the pace he was moving, hadn't given him ultimatums and hadn't given up when he pulled away.

Instead she had been there the whole time acting as if he hadn't been stumbling over every other word in the beginning or blushing every time he so much as looked at her. She just took everything in stride not caring what other people thought or how they had stared. And he knew they stared, he saw them staring all the time. And Evelyn just glared back, daring them to make comments.

Last night had sealed everything for him. He had never been so afraid in his entire life. The second he had seen her blood running down the back of her hand his heart had stopped. She had been shot and there had been nothing he could do.

When she had dragged him back to his place he had been screaming at himself to get her to the hospital. She had made it seem like she just had a scratch, but she had a bullet in her shoulder!

He had found his nerve when she had shoved her fingers into the bloody wound, digging around for that cursed piece of metal. She was going to do permanent damage and she was losing too much blood.

When she had finally pulled the bullet free and let it sink to the bottom of the bowl Bucky had provided, the clink as it sunk to the bottom rang in his ears like the gunshot.

He had immediately pressed his hand against the wound, desperate to keep pressure on it and prevent further blood loss before she had snapped at him and revealed the smooth flesh where the hole had once been.

Steve had honestly thought, in that one split second, that he had been hallucinating. That his fears had warped what he had wanted to see and that he was imagining the lack of blood flowing from her shoulder.

Bucky's gasp had quickly dispelled that belief. Or they just had managed to share the same hallucination.

The one thing that stood out (and would probably remain with him until he died) was that she had sat before him, smiling. Happy, healthy and whole. She was alive! Alive ... Alive ... The one word echoed and all he could focus on was the fact that she was still here. That he wasn't confirming her identity on a cold metal slab in a morgue somewhere.

He vaguely remembered Bucky leaving, but the feel of her in his arms was all he had cared about.

Alive.

Reality struck when Evelyn asked to bathe. The image that had popped into his head when she said that was almost too much and he had spit out the first thing he thought before leaving her be in his bedroom.

The time that she was in the shower had allowed him to gather his thoughts. One thing was for certain though. There would be no other than Evelyn. It was too early to think of that type of commitment so he knew he had to wait, but it would be worth it.

The name Evelyn Rogers slinked across his mind and the ramifications behind that sentiment made him shiver. It seemed almost taboo to tackle on wife to that fantasy.

Almost.

Just as he was about to drop his towel and change, Evelyn came out of the bathroom wearing Bucky's shirt. He was probably going to have to go to her place and grab some clothes (and bring Fenrir over as well). That thought fluttered briefly in the back of his mind since he was too busy staring.

She hadn't dried off completely before throwing on the shirt and some spots of the fabric clung to her. There went all of his work trying to calm himself down. A flush worked its way across his face when he thought of her walking out just a second later.

He didn't think he'd have survived the confrontation.

Trying to ignore his natural instinct to race into the bathroom, he beat back the blush and looking Evelyn in the eye said, "I'll head over to your place in a few and get you some clothes."

Smiling warmly she walked over and, kissing his cheek, informed him that she would be waiting for him in the living room.

* * *

Evelyn felt like she was walking on air. There was nothing that could possibly happen now that could put a wrench in their relationship. Well, nothing that they couldn't easily overcome. If a couple could overcome one of them being unnatural than any other problem should be a breeze.

It only took a couple of minutes before Steve wandered out of his bed room and told her he would be right back with her stuff and Fenrir. The latter caused her to jerk guiltily on the couch. Fenrir! He must be so worried. Nodding she told Steve she wasn't heading anywhere (obviously) and would be waiting on him and Fenrir.

Steve managed to come back surprisingly quick and the second Fenrir spotted her he had broken free from Steve's grip and jumped on her, immediately attacking her face in sloppy, drool filled kisses. Laughing she pushed the wolf off her wiping at her face before throwing her arms around him in a hug. "Missed you too boy."

Hugging Fenrir close it occurred to her that this day couldn't get any better. She was surrounded by her favorite men and there weren't any secrets weighing down on her soul. They were truly equals now.

Evelyn couldn't remember if she had ever felt as free as this. The weight if her secret had been harder to bear than she had contemplated. The release of someone knowing everything important about her made her feel as if she would float away. She held tighter onto Fenrir.

Just in case.

Looking up she saw Steve smiling gently at the two of them, a bag hanging from his fingers absentmindedly which she assumed held her much awaited clothes. Giving Fenrir one last scratch behind an ear she stood and walked over to Steve. Giving him a quick kiss she grabbed the bag and made her way to the bedroom.

Changing she stood in front of the mirror trying to figure out what to do with her hair. She loved her curls, really she did, but sometimes she lamented over the fact that she hadn't been born with straight hair. It seemed like it would be much easier to manage than the daily struggle she went through each morning.

The untamed mess sitting on top of her head could help her pass off as medusa's sister. With a sigh she wrangled it into a loose ponytail not bothering to style it. Steve obviously didn't care and she felt particularly lazy this morning. The only time she planned on leaving the apartment today was when Fenrir needed a walk.

Making her way back into the living room she smiled seeing Fenrir commander the couch for himself. Evelyn would place money that no one could out lazy her wolf. He was too spoiled.

Shoving Fenrir over to make room she gestured for Steve to sit next to her and immediately curled into his side once he did. The silence that surrounded them was comfortable, but after a moment Steve broke it.

"America is going to war."

And there went her peaceful, easy feelings.

Sitting up Evelyn looked at Steve and immediately noticed how he wasn't looking at her. Sighing she removed herself completely from his side in order to sit cross legged sideways on the couch and stare at him.

Honestly the sentence that had left his mouth didn't surprise her. America had been slowly making its way to that declaration for a while and with the recent attack on Pearl Harbor there was nothing less acceptable than war. Such an attack could not have gone unresponded.

And just as how America was going to war didn't surprise her, she also knew that Steve was going to attempt to join. It was who he was. The part that made Steve, Steve. And she couldn't resent the part of him that wanted to go off and die for his country because that would mean she didn't love all of him. Which she did. That, however, didn't mean she had to like the fact that he was going to go and attempt to get himself killed.

Flatly she responded, "You're going to try applying for the Army aren't you?"

The slight twitch he made said it all.

Reaching out she grabbed his hand and continued wryly, "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Apparently that was the last thing he had expected her to say and he finally made eye contact in surprise. Returning her grip he asked, "That's it?"

"What's it?"

"You aren't going to argue with me about applying?" He made it sound that getting her to agree would have been a war all on its own.

Huffing she let go and crossed her arms under her chest smirking inside when Steve's eyes flickered down for a second before meeting her eyes again.

"I know you Steve. This is something you wouldn't turn away from. I may not like it, but I can't stop you from being you." She let that sink in for a minute before adding on, "Just … don't be too disappointed when they deny you."

And that was the first time ever that Steve scowled at her.

"You make it sound like it is a sure thing I won't be accepted."

"Well," Evelyn hesitated before plowing on. She had been one to always speak her mind. Something that Steve had once told her he admired. "I don't want to point out the obvious and you know I don't care about your physicality's, but even if you were 180 pounds they would deny you alone on your asthma."

Steve continued to scowl and she sighed, "I'm just trying to be reasonable here." A heart beat passed and the scowl disappeared. It was Steve's turn now to sigh.

"I know. But there may be a chance that they need every available man. I need to try."

The finality of his last sentence ended any other protests she had been about to make so she just curled back into the curve of Steve's body that she had been resting in before.

Evelyn knew she couldn't stop him and she let up a prayer from the deepest recesses of her heart that he would be denied.

The last thought she gave on the matter was, _Well that managed to ruin a perfectly good morning._

Fenrir continued to doze on the couch not giving one whit to her ruined morning.


End file.
